Energy 'Treasure Hunt' Held In Japan

Three-day event IDs cost-saving, energy-reducing practices

They donned white hard hats and bump caps instead of pirate hats, but several of Corning Glass Technologies’ energy teams in Asia recently set out with a similar goal to that of a pirate: find hidden treasure, this time in the form of energy project ideas.

An Energy Treasure Hunt is a two- to three-day event that engages employees in identifying low-cost energy savings opportunities from behavioral, operational, and maintenance actions. Many ENERGY STAR® partner organizations have adopted these Treasure Hunts to identify possible projects and build stronger energy teams. To help facilitate and organize the Treasure Hunt, Jeff Hixson, division energy manager, CGT, reached out to one of the leading experts: Walt Brockway of Brockway Consulting.

“We thought it was best to have an outside consultant who has done Treasure Hunts before come in and walk us through the process,” Hixson said. Brockway retired from his role as global manager of energy efficiency at Alcoa last December, and held more than 20 Treasure Hunts at the company during his tenure. Corning’s Global Energy Management (GEM) corporate teams met Brockway through their involvement with ENERGY STAR, and have benchmarked GEM against the program at Alcoa in the past. By finding ways to reduce cost in the manufacturing space through events like Treasure Hunts, the GEM program’s efforts and successes can help deliver more money for Corning to invest in Research & Development.

Brockway formed three teams from the pool of site energy team members from Sakai City and other CGT locations. “We wanted team members from other CGT locations to experience the Treasure Hunt and take it back to their home plants,” Hixson said.

The teams spent three days engaged in the Treasure Hunt, which consisted of observing plant operations, recording findings, and presenting the findings to leadership and the other teams.

“The teams involved in the Treasure Hunt were very engaged and knowledgeable and ran with the process very nicely,” Brockway said.

Of his experience with Corning and its GEM program, Brockway said, “Your top management is very transparent, and I think the company understands you have an energy program and something to work toward.”